Alternate Medicines

Ayurveda means the "science of life". It originated in India more than 5,000 years old and is believed to be the oldest healing science in existence, from which all other systems emerged. Pronounced "Aa-your-vay-da", this ancient healing system has three main focuses: 1) Healing illness, 2) Prevention of disease and 3) Longevity or age reversal.

Originating in ancient India, Ayurveda literally means "knowledge of life". It is the knowledge that most thoroughly and elegantly details the procedures of using natural resources to restore balance for an optimal state of health and well-being. One of its most important approaches is the ingenious use of herbs and herbal extracts to promote and maintain ideal health and radiant beauty.


Ayurveda recognizes the cause of any disorder as imbalance, a lack of equilibrium within the system that disturbs the inherent health and beauty of the individual. This disharmony starts within the individual at the most fundamental level of the body's three metabolic principles or doshas - Vata which is associated with all movement, Pitta with metabolism, and Kapha with structure. These three principles are also the basis of everything in Nature.

What Makes Ayurveda So Unique?

How Does Ayurveda Work? Tridosha Theory:

The basic view of Ayurveda is that all of life (people, food, animals, nature, the universe, and diseases) are combinations of three energy-elements: air (called Vayu or Vata), fire (called Pitta), and water (called Kapha). When these elements are balanced, one is healthy. Illness is defined as an imbalance of these elements; all disorders excesses of one or more element.

People and the Elements: A person's constitution (dosha) is predominantly one or more of these elements. Each element relates to certain body types, foods and health concerns. By nature, whatever a person's constitution is, they have a tendency for it to become excessed. For example an air constitution person (Vayu dosha) is thin and bony. Physical symptoms of excess air include dry skin, cracking bones, gas and constipation. Mental symptoms of excess air include fear, worry, anxiety and nervousness.

When an air constitution (Vayu dosha) person is balanced they are creative, adaptable and have no physical health concerns. Ayurveda notes that certain foods increase air and other foods reduce air. In general, excess air is reduced by eating cooked or steamed foods, and eating every three or four hours. Foods like carrots, rice and mung beans reduce excess air. Broccoli, baked beans and barley increase air (e.g., they cause gas). Excessive lifestyles also increases the air element.

Fire constitution people (Pitta dosha) tend towards excess heat. When healthy they are strong, make good leaders and are warm and goal oriented. When the Pitta dosha is imbalanced, mentally they become hot tempered, impatient, irritable. Physically they develop heat-related disorders such as acne, rashes, diarrhea, ulcers, toxic blood, liver, kidney, gall bladder, heart and spleen disorders.

Water constitutions (Kapha doshas) tend towards excess water. When healthy they are strong, muscular, calm and loyal. When water becomes excessed, they develop lethargy, and a hoarding or greedy nature. Physically they develop congestion, overweight, edema, heart and kidney problems, etc.

Review:

Health means balance. Each constitution has a natural tendency to become imbalanced or excessed. By eating foods and living a lifestyle that reduces the the excesses, one remains balanced. Balancing produces healing, prevention, and reverses the aging process.

Many people have two or even all three elements in their constitution. In these cases, both elements tend toward excess. Thus foods and lifestyles that reduce both elements need to be followed.

What Therapies Does Ayurveda Offer?

Using a holistic approach, Ayurveda offers therapies for each of the five senses because different people learn better through different senses. Therapies include;

Taste: Herbs and nutrition.
Touch: Massage (abhyanga), yoga, exercise.
Smell: Aromatherapy.
Sight: Color therapy.
Hearing: Music therapy, mantra meditation, chanting. Spiritual therapies include meditation, living ethically, and working in a career that one loves or is purposeful.

Environmental factors are also considered from this holistic outlook. These therapies include house, apartment and office structure and astrological effects. These are sciences unto themselves. Vedic architecture (Vastu Shastra) and Chinese Feng Shui (pronounced fung shway) deal with the laws of nature that integrate the earth, the person and the planets and stars. The exterior and interior design of buildings can also enhance balance or cause imbalance. Vedic astrology (Jyotish) is the science of understanding the laws of nature of the planets and stars, and how they influence us.

What Does Holistic Mean?

Holistic has two meanings.

1)It looks at the whole of one's life. Health and disease are byproducts of all aspects of one's life: nutrition, career, mental frame, family and social activities and spiritual life. If one area is weakened, all areas begin to suffer. If a person is unhappy at work, it will affect all other areas of life.

2)Holistic means holy. Ayurveda reminds us that to have and maintain true health, persons need to take some quiet time for spiritual development. The goal of life is Self-Realization. This is a state of unshakeable Divine mental peace.

Ayurveda - a healthy mind in a healthy body

The layman is most often intimidated by bitter concoctions, kashayams, and herbal remedies that Ayurveda prescribes. Add to this the enormous quantity of medicine that has to be consumed for an ailment and the prepartion time taken for some of them so one is reluctant to tke ayurvedic treatment. However what most people are unaware of is that Ayurveda's medicinal herbs and its holistic approach to healing, help tackle problems at the roots and bring about total cure. For unlike Allopathy which treats problem areas in isolation, Ayurveda treats an individual as a whole by prescribing different medicines which bring about a balance in his system without giving any side effects.

This leads to the study of the philosophy of Ayurveda. Ayurveda is not only a system of natural healing but an entire way of life. It believes in holistic philosophy that life si the union of the body (sharir) senser organs (indiriya) , psyche(mana) and soul (atma) and amims at bringing about a balance between the mind body and spirit. Ayurveda is based on the theory of tridosha or the three biological foreces - vata (air) pitta(fire) and kapha(water) . it states that every human being embodies one of these three basic life forces which controls his mental and physical well being . when there is harmony among these elements, one is healthy. Diseases arise when there's imbalance amongh the tri-doshas . an ayurvaid tries to bring about the required equilibrium through proper treatment.

An Ayurvedic practitioner first examines a patient's pulse., for an indication of the state of his health. Then tongue, skin nails and eyes and discusses a patients medical history, lifestyle and diet. He relies on historical analysis and physical examination done almost entirely by observation to determine a person's original nature and detect imbalances. Based on his diagnosis diet suited to an individual is prescribed.

In Ayurveda individuals suffering from the same disease are often prescribed different herbal cures and diets. This is because ayurveda believes that no two individuals are exactly alike. They differ in size, voice modulation, finger prints etc. they also don not have the same kind of heart, lung or kidney., therefore they cannot be prescribe the same drug and diet. So, an important part of ayurvedic treatment is to ascertain an individual's 'Prakruti" or the nature of his constitution. Based on his constitution , the imbalance and the various causes for the development of a disease.

The basis for all other concepts in Ayurveda, is sankhya ( the analytical study of the elements that comprise the universe ) . Accordingly to sankhya, there are 24 elements of which five are the foundation of the gross world : earth water , fire , air and ether .when these five elements are joined in different combinations, they make up the tridoshas which constitute the prakruti or nature of an individual.

When an ayurvedic practitioner prescribes a particular drug regimen , he sometimes restricts or asks him to totally intake of certain foods as otherwise, the drug action is rendered ineffective. Ayurveda also offers therapies like healing through music , vedic mantras and yoga. Vastushastra is given a lot of importance in Ayurveda as it is believed that the interior and exterior design of buildings can affect our natural balance and bring about illness. When a patient sticks to his drug and diet regimen and combines this with other healing therapy, he is sure to find a great improvement of his health.

Panchakarma, which refers to the five therapies for removal of toxic materials from the body, is also said to be very effective in the treatment of several diseases including rheumatic disorders, paralysis, allergies, asthma skin diseases etc. practiced by a few qualified specialists, it is a curative therapy for diseases that are not amenable to palliative management. The five therapies are : Vamana or induced vomiting, virechana or purgation, basti or enemas ( mixture of medicated oils) Nasyam or errhines wherein kapha is expelled through the nose, and RakthaMokshana or removal of toxic blood and Pitta through the blood veins.

A lot of progress has been made over the years in ayurveda. The system which began as hereditary practice, went on to become a Gurukula system and after independence , institutional training began to be imparted. There are now over one hundred and fifty ayurvedic colleges spread all over India. Despite the strides made in the field, it is still not very popular among the people of the country. This is because the values and wisdom of this ancient science has not been presented in a manner that the common man understands and accepts. Besides, it does not provide instant cures.

As Dr. Rajalakshmi, a practitioner at her clinic, Arya Vaidya Agency in Triplicane puts it, "People seek Ayurveda as a last resort. They drug themselves with allopathic medicines and when these fail to provide any relief they turn to Ayurveda for a cure. We have to start by first detoxifying a patient and then beginning treatment which is arduous and prolonged".

Ayurvedic practitioners in India encounter several problems but it can be denied that knowledge of this science of life is fast spreading to foreign lands and is gaining recognition. Faced with the stress of modern life, people are increasingly turning to natural healing and holistic approaches to attain god health and a better quality of life.

HISTORY OF AYURVEDA

The history of Ayurveda dates back to vedic times, about 5000 years back in the foot of Himalayas. One of the great sages Srila Vyasadeva is believed to have written the first Vedas. Prominent among them was Ayurveda. Ayur means life in Sanskrit, Veda stands for the science or science oflife. Legend has it that the sage entrusted the texts of Ayurveda to his enlightened disciples and they did sacrificial ceremonies for over hundred years. During this time the disciples studied and researched these texts without changing them. After the successful completion of the sacrifice and understanding the eternal truths of Ayurveda the disciples placed these texts written in Sanskrit wre kept in the leading libraries and temples throughout the country.

Ayurveda comes under the Atharvaveda and this earliest medical science was practiced along with other rituals during the vedic period. Apart from Vyasadeva there were lot more sages who have written about herbal drugs and surgeries in the Vedas. At later stages some prominent sages like Kasyapa, Charaka etc have recorded various methods of treatments like prosthetic surgery to replace limbs, cosmetic surgery, brain surgery including caesarean section, called by different names. In their samhitas. Archeological evidence proves that these operations were successfully held 5000 years before and the development of the foetus in the womb is wonderfully described in the texts of charaka.

During the vedic period the present day Ayurveda was grouped into two sections, Dhanwantari is the school of surgery and Athreya is the school of physicians. There were eight disciples in the Dhanwantari section and six in the Athreya school. These disciples propogated Ayurveda to the different parts of the world and this period in History was known as Samhita age. There are in all eight schools in the Ayurvedic compendia. Rasayana the science of geriatrics, salakyatantra the brach dealing Otorhino- laryngology that inclues ophthalmology, Bhutavidya that is bacteriology and psychiatry , Kayachikits is internal medicine, for the study of pediatrics it is Kaumarabhritya and for toxicology it was Agadhantantra and Vajikarana is the branch of science which deals with the study of aphrodisiacs and Salyatantra has the surgery section.

This ancient science then spread into the neighboring countries like Sri Lanka, Tibet, Singapore , Malaysia to name a few. Ayurveda was practiced as a hereditary system then known as Parampara system and after independence when the institutional training was started the government felt the need to protect quality and asked the practitioners to register themselves. These training centers were later affiliated to the universities and the Central Council for Research in Indian Medicine which functioned in the same lines as the Indian council of Medical research. The Central council is again divided into two section i.e the Central Council of Research in Ayurveda and Siddha and the Central Council for Research in Unani, Homeopathy, and Yoga. The councils started funding various research projects of ICMR. Now there are separate councils for Unani , Homeopathy and Yoga. The institutes of Excellence comprising the Central Research Institute and regional research centers were also started to develop research and propogate Ayurveda.

AYURVEDA PRODUCTS

AMALAKI

The richest source of natural vitamin c, the fruit of Amalaki (amla) is useful in the treatment of cough, cold, sorethroat and other respiratory Tract infections. It also has anti oxidant properties and protects cells from free-radical damage.

ARJUNA

The extract from the bank of the Arjuna tree contains cardio-protective properties. It reduces triglyceride and cholesterol levels in the blood, and regulates blood pressure to maintain healthy cardiovascular activity.

ASHVAGANDHA

An anti-stress herb that has relaxant and antispasmodic properties. Ashvagandha has excellent adaptogenic action that leads to better physical fitness and helps cope withlife'' daily stress. It is especially beneficial incontrolling stress-related disorders such as hypertension.

BILVA

The fruit of Bilva, commonly known as Bael, has digestive, anthelminticand anti-inflammatory properties. It is very useful in treating dysentery, diarrhea worm infestation and intestinal ulcers. It is also an effective carminative and laxative.

BRAHMI

Brahmi is well-known memory enhancer that aids in improving learning ability and mental alertness. It also acts as an anti- anxiety agent and has a calming effect.

GOKSHURA

A herb that provides renal comfort. Gokshura has tonic and spasmolytic properties that is effective in dysuria and urolithiasis. It helps maintain efficient kidney and urinary functions.

GUDUCHI

A herb that has excellent imunodulatory properties. Guduchi helps enhance the effectiveness of white blood cells, improves the immune system and builds the body's resistance to infections. It is useful against conditions that can reduce the body's in-built immunity like chemotherapy, convalescence after prolonged illness etc.

SHUDDHA GUGGULU

A well- known lipid regulator, Guggulu shows excellent results in regulating the lipid metabolism and body fat reduction, It has been shown to reduce the LDL and cholesterol levels in the blood an is useful as a preventive against cardiac ailments.

HARITAKI

The Haritaki fruit has laxative and tonic properties. It helps maintain regular bowel movement and ensures the comfort of smooth evacuation. Very useful in constipation and haemorrhoids.

KARAVELLA

Commonly known as Karela (Bitter Gourd), it has blood sugar regulating properties. It has been long used to regulate sugar levels in diabetics.

LASUNA

Extracts from the Garlic bulb have been found to have significant protective action against high serum cholesterol.

Alternative Medicines:

1. Karpooradi oil:

Indications: joint pain, muscular pain, and back ache, stiffness of joints arthritis.

2. Sharlib: (capsules and syrup for men and
Women)

3. Artigard: (herbal anti-inflammatory - analgeric
Capsules)

Indications: For all types of joint pains, muscular skeletal pains and arthralgin.

Precautions: Commiphora mukul has a regularising influence on female genitals. Hence do not take during pregnancy.avoid during lactation and in diarrhoea.

4. Saft: (the blood purifier)

The herbal remedy for skindiseases such as acne vulgeris, bails, skin rashes, belmishes urticaira etc.

Checks nose bleeding, cures constipation, corrects indigestion, improves complexion and helps you stay slim and smart.

5. Crux: (cough syrup with tulsi)

This syrup is very good for strong cough. It gives soothing effects in seasonal coughs. Evrybody like to buy this bottle.

6. Bajaj: (cough syrup with tulsi)

Indications: All forms of cough and respiratory track infections.

7. Kottam chukkadi oil:

Application: Gentle massage of 10 to 15 mts of warm oil on the affected part. Take hot water bath after 30 minutes.

Indication: Numbness, joint pains, arthritis, paralysis etc.

8. Smyle: (sore throat reliever)

Smyle, a traditinal remedy, scientifically formulated, relieves, allergic cough, smokers cough, productive cough, and soothes sore throat.

To use:
Pour 5 ml of smyle into the measuring cup.
Gargle for 30 secs - swallow
Repeat the whole process with another 5ml.
Use smyle thrice a day for complete relief.

SIDDHA

Siddha Vaidya medicine defines health as a complete presence of physical, mental, emotional, spiritual and social balance. Siddha Vaidya means "Perfection of Health" and comes from the South of India, born from Shiva, known as Saivism. This is the oldest, scientific systems for detoxifying and re-nutrifying the body, providing thousands of years of tested remedies for prevention of illness. These are traditions that have been passed down orally from master to student, generation after generation, but very little has been written down.

Only in the last 5,000 years has Ayurveda been written down. Only little has yet to be written on Siddha Vaidya except for what is on "palm leaf manuscripts" and are still being transcribed and translated today.

Based on principles which are as old as Life itself and are intimately tied to how nature functions everywhere in creation, they recognize the intimate connection between the processes occurring in nature and those going on inside our bodies. They teach how to live daily life in harmony with cosmic life, recognizing that our true nature is Spirit, that this subtle matter constitutes the inner body of man. All aspects of an individual are considered and treatment is prescribed to bring balance to all areas of one's life: the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual.

Siddha has a tradition of about two thousand years and I protest against the manner of categorizing it under alternate medicine. We should not let ourselves address this system of medicine that has originated from our land as an alternative medical system. Given a history of continuity for about 2000 years , we should not forget the importance of this system.

In siddha there are four types of medicines that are graded and administered to the patients. The four types are medicines of mineral origin, metallic origin , vegetable origin and animal origin.

Primarily concentration is on the medicines of vegetable origin. Before prescribing medicines extracted from herbs, they do not suggest metallic medicines. If the herbal medicines are found to be ineffective, then the more potent mineral medicines are given followed by the other two types if required.

The siddha system is close to our diet. Medicines are given, taking into consideration , the different stages of ailment as well as the condition of the patient. For eg in the case of a fever a kashayan of vegetable origin is given for three days. If symptoms persist however, the metallic medicines are administered.

Daily regimes and appropriate diet are the starting point for the indigenous ways of health and life for the people of North and South India. According to Ayu/Siddha, it is the perfect digestion and assimilation of our food, together with the regular and efficient evacuation of wastes that is essential for health and beauty. Any food, no matter how perfect, that is improperly digested, forms toxic wastes call "ama". Ama clogs the system, impedes digestion, blocks vital channels and clouds the mind. Good digestion is enhanced by selecting and preparing foods according to one's personal needs and body type.

The individual is requested to get involved more and take responsibility for his/her own healing. Seasonal cleansing and rejuvenation is suggested to maintain health. Pancha Karma and Kriya Karma are the practices of Ayurveda and Siddha Vaidya to achieve these results.
The doctor or practitioner knows and trusts in the body's ability to heal itself. Based on this knowledge, they strive to re-establish harmony in the doshas, the elements, allowing the body's innate healing abilities to take place. The patient is taught how to love and honor their body, mind and Spirit, how to listen to the dance of nature within and around them and maintain the balance of these elements.

The Disease Process begins when we step away from our true nature as Spirit.

Ayurveda and Siddha recognize the same eight branches of medicine that is practiced in the West. Geriatrics, the study of disease of the aged, is acknowledged but viewed very differently. Prevention methods, cleansing processes and rejuvenation therapies are given instead of drugs. The aim of their therapy is to maintain the youthfulness of the body and extend life span.

The Siddhas in India are known for the perfection they have attained in their body and mind. An accomplished Siddha is someone who has learned to harmonize his awareness with the subtle matter of which he is composed. They can maintain their body at a youthful age for hundreds of years by practicing various meditations, pranayama and yoga, while eating a simple diet, using herbs to support their body and practicing Kriya Karma. Their focus is on the reversal of the aging process.

Reversing catabolism - the breaking down of tissue, to anabolism - the rebuilding of tissue. It is believed that we are in an anabolic state until we reach our late twenties or early thirties. Then catabolism begins - the aging process. By reversing this process, the body can maintain a youthful, vibrant state for an indefinite amount of time.

There are three main doshas called Vata, Pitta and Kapha, or sometimes called air, bile and phlegm. Vata relates to ether, air, space or the wind element, Pitta relates to the fire element, and Kapha relates to the water and earth elements.

Vata - governs all movement in the body and is responsible for all voluntary and involuntary impulses. It is the director of transportation, causing everything in creation to move to the right place at the right time. Because it controls all movement in nature, it actually governs the actions of the other two doshas. Cellular level: Controls the movement into and out of the cells bringing in nourishment and carrying away wastes. Qualities: Dry, light, quick, cold, minute, rough, mobile Emotional: Fear and anxiety Symptom: Pain, spasm Element: Wind Body Zones: Colon, Bones, Skin, Mind Pittamanifests the properties of heat and light and facilitates all transformations in the body and the mind, such as digestion and assimilation.

Pitta - regulates temperature and is associated with the sun. Cellular level: It is the functioning inside the cells. Qualities: Hot, sharp, penetrating, light, acidic, slightly oily Emotional: Anger, irritation, critical Symptom: Inflammation, fever, irritation Element: Fire Body Zones: Small Intestines, Liver, Blood, Skin.

Kapha - governs form and substance and is responsible for weight, stability and lubrication. It influences the ocean tides and the ebb and flow of fluids in the body, it is associated with the moon. Cellular level: Binds and hold together Qualities: Heavy, slow, cold, steady, solid, oily Emotional: Desire, attachment Symptom: Oozing, swelling, mucus Element: Water, earth Body Zones: Stomach, head, chest, lungs.

CAUSES OF DISEASES

Mistake of Intellect - loss of sattva influence - connection to Self. When we identify with individual objects, or parts of knowledge, rather than the wholeness - sattva. This is not a conscious decision, but is programmed from childhood. This is the first cause of disease.

Misuses of Senses - loss of sattva influence - connect to Self at a deeper level. When we lose connection to Self, we begin to make choices that do not support balance. Abusing the senses disables their functional capacity and allows harmful influences to impact the mind and body. Overuse (rajas), underuse (tamas), emotionally harmful use (abusive movies, etc.), results in doshic imbalance and production of ama (waste). This is the second cause of disease.The

Changing of Seasons - if ama has set in, the relationship between doshas is out of balance and the changing of the seasons will have a negative impact on the body - as within, so without. More ama is formed. This is the third cause of disease.

First Phase - Accumulation - Stored Ama collects in GI tract Kapha - Stomach Pitta - Small Intestines Vata, Colon Symptoms are mild, usually ignored

Second Phase - Aggravation - First stage is ignored, same mistakes are made, ama continues to be produced. Accumulates at site to the point of provocation.

Third Phase - Migration - "to leave and spread" Overflows its site of origin - doshas transport it to the dhatus (tissues). Ama is sticky so it adheres to tissue. (Doshas can move from hollow structures to deeper tissues and back again twice a day.) Follows same sequence as dhatu development - Rasa, Rakta, Mamsa, Meda, Asthi, Majja, Shukra.

Fourth Phase - Taking shelter - lodges in a weak dhatu (tissue), overwhelms it. Causes dysfunction and structural damage Beginning of degenerative diseases and serious infections.

Fifth Phase - That which can be seen - General diagnosis is made Immunity and health functions deteriorate Structural damage progresses Drugs are usually prescribed, symptoms are suppressed Disease process will recur or will find another avenue

Sixth Phase - Differentiation - No Doubts about nature of disease Severe damage and impairment of dhatu function Complication with related dhatus Complication with toxic side effects of drugs Complete cure becomes difficult

WHAT TO DO?

Ahara - "Intake" - knowledge of proper diet, 60% of diseases can be controlled by diet

Vihar - "activity" - a healthy lifestyle to maintain optimum health

Aushadhi - "medicine" - treatments to bring back to health - used when diet and lifestyle cannot correct the imbalances by themselves.

If the body is kept free of toxic buildup - it is capable of assimilating nutrient and replenishing itself.

DHATUS - BODY TISSUE

Dhatu is translated as "body tissue". They exist in many forms - liquid, semi-solid and solid. These are substances and structures that are kept by the body, when they are expelled from the body, they are considered to be mala or waste matter.

There are seven dhatus:

Rasa: Nutritional Fluid - Plasma, lymph
Rakta: Blood - Life Force
Mamsa: Muscles - Cover Bones, Skin
Meda: Adipose Tissue, Fat - Lubrication
Asthi: Bone - Structure and Support
Majja: Bone Marrow - Nerve Tissue Nourishment
Shukra: Semen/Ovaries - Reproduction

This is the order in which dhatus develop in the body, in a fixed manner, one from the other, each one nourished by the previous one.

Each of these dhatus is connected with an emotional or mental component. During pancha karma, as detoxification takes place, extra tiredness, mental activity or emotion may arise. This is natural and most welcome.

Rasa - interest, faith, immune function
Rakta - enthusiasm, nourishing ourselves
Mamsa - confidence, courage, strength
Meda - Ability to love and to be loved
Asthi - how we move in the world
Majja - mental capacity
Shukra - creativity, spontaneity

UNANI

Unani medicine was presented as a fully developed system of therapeutics by Hakim Abu Ali Abdullah Husayn Ibn Sina, known as Avicenna in the West. A brief glance at the accomplishments of his life confirms the title by which he is known in the East: The Prince of Physicians.

Unani medicine is based upon two important concepts. First, the Doctrine of the Naturals establishes the standards of the human body, from which disease states are deduced by deviation from the norms; second, the Doctrine of Causes identifies and explains the reasons for the deviations from the norms. Efforts at diagnosis the main symptoms as signs leading to the underlying imbalance (Avicenna uses the word 'intemperament') that allowed the disease symptoms to arise in the first place.

Avicenna sets forth six primary factors which are evaluated in depth to discern the cause of a disease: 1) the air of one's environment; 2) food and beverages; 3) movement and rest; 4) sleep and wakefulness; 5) evacuation and eating; and 6) emotions.

While some may feel these six factors are self-evident and simplistic, the exhaustive analysis of them by Avicenna seems practically miraculous. For example, "air" is not considered simply as the air one breathes, but includes the rhythm of inhalation and exhalation, atmospheric effects, seasonal changes, winds and other factors which may influence these elements such as types of trees and vegetation, mines and mineral deposits in the locale, cemeteries, dead animals, putrid water, muddy swamps and similar things.

Unani Food & Dietetics

But the heart of Avicenna's therapeutics is found in the importance he places on food and diet. Avicenna writes: "Most illnesses arise solely from long-continued errors of diet and regimen." My teacher Hakim Sherif was fond of summing up Unani with two pithy remarks: "The stomach is the home of illness; diet is the main medicine."

Avicenna views the process of digestion as one by which the nutrient substances (foods and beverages) are heated or 'cooked' by the body. By this is meant that the foods are altered from their state when taken into the mouth, and refined, or broken down, into ever-smaller nutrient parts. The process of heating---the grinding of food by teeth, action of oral enzymes, hydrochloric acid, and direct heat of the liver---all are part of the body's own 'cooking' of the nutrients according to Avicenna. Thus, the dietetics of Unani are concerned first and primarily with evaluating foods according to their ability to enhance or impede this innate metabolic action of the body. While the Unani physicians agree with developments in biochemistry, such as the discovery of vitamins, which occurred since the time of Avicenna, they still insisit that the primary focus and attention must be on total and effecient metabolism.

Foods are said to be either 'hot' (garmi) or 'cool' (sardi). This classification is consistent with other systems that endeavor to obtain an overview of the metabolic process, such as the East Indian Ayurvedic medicine, which assigns identical heating and cooling values to foods. Generally speaking, Avicenna's values of foods corresponds to the macrobiotic yin (cool) and yang (warm).

Foods that are sardi, or cooling, place several burdens on the body: 1) they are harder to digest (initial breakdown in mouth and stomach); 2) they are harder to assimilate (absorption of micro-nutrients into the blood stream and cells; and 3) consequently, they leave a greater residue of superfluous waste products.

The following chart shows the metabolic values assigned to many common foods by Avicenna.

Metabolic Values of Foods

Heating (Garmi) Foods

Meat and Fish: lamb, liver, chicken, eggs, goat (male), fish (general).
Dairy Products: sheep's milk, cream cheese, cream, clarified butter (ghee).
Vegetables and Beans: beet, radish, onion, mustard greens, red lentils, white lentils, kidney beans, leek, eggplant, chick peas, red pepper, green pepper, carrot seed, squash.
Fruits: peach, plum, orange, lemon, mulberries, red raisins, green raisins, olive, ripe grapes, pumpkin, all dried fruits.
Seeds and Nuts: sesame, almond, pistachio, apricot kernels, walnut, pine nuts.
Grains: thingrain rice, basmati rice.
Oils: sesame oil, corn oil, castor oil, mustard oil Be ~ gts black tea, coffee.
Herbs: cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, fenugreek, ginger, celery seed, anise seed, rue, saffron~ garam masala (blend), curry powder (blend).
Other: honey, rock candy, all sweet things, salt, all modern medicine.

Cooling (Sardi) Foods

Meat: rabbit, goat (female), beef.
Dairy Products: cow's milk, mother's milk, goat's milk, butter, buttermilk, dried cheeses, margarine.
Vegetables and Beans: lettuce, celery, sprouts (general), zucchini, spinach, cabbage, okra, cauliflower, broccoli, white potato, sweet potato, carrot, cucumber, soybeans, tomato, turnip, peas, beans (general).
Fruits: melons (general), pear, coconut, fig, banana, pomegranate.
Seeds and Nuts: none.
Grains: brown rice, thick grain rice.
Oils: sunflower oil, coconut oil.
Beverages: green teas.
Herbs: coriander (dry), dill, henna.
Other: refined sugar, vinegar, bitter things, sour things.

The typical cuisine of cultures adapted to the Unani system reflect a diet comprised of approximately 60-80 percent of those foods considered to be metabolically heating: Basmati rice, clarified butter, onion, lentils, leek, eggplant, chick peas, pepper, dried fruits, nuts and tea. Foods from the cooling list enter into the diet more as seasonal variations on the basic components of the diet.

Meat, while permitted, is consumed in far smaller quantities than in a typical American home---usually a modest protion one or twice per week. Consumption of pork is shunned, as are alcoholic beverages, banned because of its ability to destroy human reason.

Unani medicine is based upon two important concepts. First, the Doctrine of the Naturals establishes the standards of the human body, from which disease states are deduced by deviation from the norms; second, the Doctrine of Causes identifies and explains the reasons for the deviations from the norms. Efforts at diagnosis the main symptoms as signs leading to the underlying imbalance (Avicenna uses the word 'intemperament') that allowed the disease symptoms to arise in the first place.

Avicenna sets forth six primary factors which are evaluated in depth to discern the cause of a disease: 1) the air of one's environment; 2) food and beverages; 3) movement and rest; 4) sleep and wakefulness; 5) evacuation and eating; and 6) emotions.

While some may feel these six factors are self-evident and simplistic, the exhaustive analysis of them by Avicenna seems practically miraculous. For example, "air" is not considered simply as the air one breathes, but includes the rhythm of inhalation and exhalation, atmospheric effects, seasonal changes, winds and other factors which may influence these elements such as types of trees and vegetation, mines and mineral deposits in the locale, cemeteries, dead animals, putrid water, muddy swamps and similar things.

Unani Food & Dietetics

But the heart of Avicenna's therapeutics is found in the importance he places on food and diet. Avicenna writes: "Most illnesses arise solely from long-continued errors of diet and regimen." My teacher Hakim Sherif was fond of summing up Unani with two pithy remarks: "The stomach is the home of illness; diet is the main medicine."

Avicenna views the process of digestion as one by which the nutrient substances (foods and beverages) are heated or 'cooked' by the body. By this is meant that the foods are altered from their state when taken into the mouth, and refined, or broken down, into ever-smaller nutrient parts. The process of heating---the grinding of food by teeth, action of oral enzymes, hydrochloric acid, and direct heat of the liver---all are part of the body's own 'cooking' of the nutrients according to Avicenna. Thus, the dietetics of Unani are concerned first and primarily with evaluating foods according to their ability to enhance or impede this innate metabolic action of the body. While the Unani physicians agree with developments in biochemistry, such as the discovery of vitamins, which occurred since the time of Avicenna, they still insisit that the primary focus and attention must be on total and effecient metabolism.

Foods are said to be either 'hot' (garmi) or 'cool' (sardi). This classification is consistent with other systems that endeavor to obtain an overview of the metabolic process, such as the East Indian Ayurvedic medicine, which assigns identical heating and cooling values to foods. Generally speaking, Avicenna's values of foods corresponds to the macrobiotic yin (cool) and yang (warm).

Foods that are sardi, or cooling, place several burdens on the body: 1) they are harder to digest (initial breakdown in mouth and stomach); 2) they are harder to assimilate (absorption of micro-nutrients into the blood stream and cells; and 3) consequently, they leave a greater residue of superfluous waste products.

Like his famous predecessors Hippocrates and Galen, Avicenna also discovered the conceptual framework for expressing the imbalances that cause disease in the Concept of Humors. The humors, semi-gaseous, vaporous substances, are considered the 'essence' of the blood, phlegm, yellow and black bile. These substances admix with the body's fluids and tissues, and are responsible for maintaining each part of the body in its characteristic, healthy temperament. For example, blood is said by nature to be warm and moist; phlegm, cold and moist; yellow bile, cold and dry; and black bile, hot and dry. Likewise each body part and system---organs, nerves, skin, and so forth---is believed to have a proper, or healthy temperament. Whenever this balance is disturbed---usually due to incorrect food or exercise---an environment is created in which disease can arise and flourish. Western scientists admit to a quasi-material "pre-disposing factor" which permits some to fall ill from bacteria and viruses, while others identically exposed, do not. On this vital point, Western medicine and Avicenna seem to be in perfect agreement.

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